Christmas is a good opportunity for anyone who needs extra money to find temporary jobs to help with bills or credit card debt, and to relieve the extra financial pressures of the holiday.
Surveys conducted by Fish4Jobs and Adecco suggest that employers are planning massive take up of extra staff at Christmas and are currently expecting to spend a quarter of their time on recruitment procedures for seasonal staff. It’s clear that employers across the UK are expecting a huge rise in Christmas spending in areas such as retail, hospitality, fast food sectors and mobile communications, as well as in restaurants and smaller shops, despite the dire financial climate.
Finding Christmas Temporary Work
Many big employers such as Marks and Spencer and Argos will advertise in job centres, local newspapers and online, but being pro active can often mean sourcing those jobs before those companies fill their vacancies. Calling the HR departments, or visiting them in person and asking for a list of vacancies will cut down the time waiting for paperwork to be sent through the mail. Many of these seasonal vacancies are filled before the end of November so plan ahead.
Legislation dictates that pay is at least minimum wage. The law is there to protect employees from being exploited and short-changed: there is dignity in employment and self respect in expecting that one be paid the going rate for the job being done. If low rates are being paid then this needs to be challenged too, so that others working there will not continue to be exploited and the management can have their attention drawn to their legal responsibilities.
It’s advisable to find out if expenses are payable or if petrol and maintenance are included in the pay. These details need to be in writing, to include the amount of expenses being paid and the actual amount of the hourly rate. There may well be tax obligations if work is going to be classed as self-employed, in which case the amount earned and any expenses incurred should be added to the self assessment tax return.
Remember that in the rush for jobs there will be scammers on the lookout for anyone desperate to make some money for Christmas. Take care when looking through online joblists or answering ads in the paper. Never pay anything to anyone in the hope of getting a job, and make sure people are bona fide before giving away any personal details or ID.
Temporary Opportunities at Christmas
- Shelf stacking
- Storerooms
- Factories
- Portering in hospitals
- Bar staff
- Waiters and waitresses
- Office work to cover for permanent staff holidays or illness
- Santa Claus
- Mystery shopping
- Sales assistants - big chain stores (Superdrug, Body Shop party planners, supermarkets etc)
- Fast food servers
- Drug and medical volunteers
- Taxi services
- Cleaning - offices, hotels, pubs
- Temporary Sales Advisers with O2
Before applying for work over the Christmas period, applicants need to be aware of their physical limits as well as knowing how they cope under pressure. There is a big difference between walking around for part of the week in college or looking after children part time, and standing for up to twelve hours a day in a stressful and busy retail environment.
Working extra hours to keep on top of the bills may end up being counter productive if physical exhaustion becomes overwhelming. There is no point ending up so tired and drained that it impacts on physical and emotional wellbeing and on family life. Many people will be working at a day job too, as well as feeling compelled to work extra hours in the evenings, and they need to make sure of getting adequate rest and time for themselves.
It would be devastating for people to put so much energy into earning enough to pay all the bills and to be able to provide a wonderful Christmas for friends and family, if they are then too exhausted or demoralised to enjoy the results.
Sources:
Pay and Work Rights Helpline, Direct.gov.
"National Minimum Wage," HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
Suzanne Bosworth - Suzanne Bosworth BA (Hons) - a professional writer published in magazines, journals and websites, specialising in arts, history and ...
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